India Sports

Dronacharya Awards


Though, we have many awards to honor outstanding sportspersons, there was hardly any award in India that recognized or honored the contribution of excellent coaches. Government instituted Dronacharya Award to recognize the efforts of such coaches and trainers who dedicate their lives to enhancing the performance of athletes and raising the standard of games. These highly trained sportspersons bring glory and honor to the country in the international sports events. The Dronacharya Award was first given in 1985 and since then every year it is provided to expert coaches for their consistent outstanding performance. It is also required that the awardee has exhibited excellent performance for consistent three years preceding the Award. It is also provided to honor the distinguished individuals, who have dedicated their lives to the promotion of sports. The cash prize associated with Dronacharya Award is Rs. 5 lakhs. It also includes a bronze statue of Guru Dronacharya (the ancient Indian archery trainer in the mythological era of Mahabharata), a tie, a blazer, a scroll and a suit.

Scheme



The objectives of Dronacharya Award can be described as follows:

A - The first objective of Dronacharya Award is to honor the contribution and role of instructors, trainers and coaches on a consistent basis leading towards unmatched performances by the sportspersons trained by them.

B - The another objective of this award is to motivate coaches and trainers to work with focus and dedication and train sportspersons in order to help them attain success at the global sports events.

Award



Dronacharya Award includes a ceremonial dress, a scroll of honor, a plaque and a cash prize of five lakh rupees. The winners are invited to the venue, where an award function is held. According to rules of the Award, no person can be honored twice with this award. However, the Award can be provided posthumously in case an outstanding coach is no more.

In case the government decides to cancel the Award given to an individual for any reasons whatsoever, the recipient would be required to return the scroll of honor.

The government reserves all the rights regarding this award and the decision of the government would be considered to be final and abiding in reference to this Scheme and no appeal can be made against the government.

The nominee of Dronacharya award is considered to have accepted the provisions of the Scheme of the award. Canvassing is strictly prohibited and it will lead to the disqualification of a particular entry. The number of Dronacharya award can't exceed five in a specific year.

Dronacharya Awards are given to the trainers and coaches with consistent outstanding performance at:

A-Global Olympic events
B-Sports disciplines recognized by the government
C-Indigenous sports recognized by the government

Eligibility



An individual working as a fulltime or part time coach should have an excellent track record during the year for which the award is provided and besides that he should also have exhibited exceptional performance during the immediate three years prior to the year of the award.

He is also supposed to be directly engaged in the act of coaching for the team or an individual for at least two years prior to the event for which the award is being conferred. A trainer or a coach promoting or conniving the use of banned drugs is also not considered to be qualified to receive the coveted Award.

The achievement of a coach is measured through an individual sportsperson's performance in an individual event or winning a medal at any international competition, championship, world cup or Olympic Games. It is also assessed on the basis of creating or breaking a world record by the trainee athlete under that coach. The nominations for Dronacharya Award are invited by Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports every year in the month of January.

Last Updated on 09/18/2012